Model Comparison
Claude Opus 4.6 vs Qwen3 235B A22BWhich is better in 2026?
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3 235B A22B is 100.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Claude Opus 4.6 vs Qwen3 235B A22B — which is better?
Claude Opus 4.6 (by Anthropic) and Qwen3 235B A22B (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMMLU), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen3 235B A22B is roughly 100.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Claude Opus 4.6 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
Choose Qwen3 235B A22B if…
- cost matters — it's about 100.0x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Opus 4.6 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (AIME 2025, GPQA, MMMLU), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 50.0x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 4.6 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 250.0x more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.6 is more expensive than Qwen3 235B A22B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Opus 4.6 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3 235B A22B's 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Opus 4.6 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 235B A22B does not.
Claude Opus 4.6 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 4.6
Qwen3 235B A22B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Opus 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 235B A22B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 4.6 was released on 2026-02-05, while Qwen3 235B A22B was released on 2025-04-29.
Claude Opus 4.6 is 9 months newer than Qwen3 235B A22B.
Feb 5, 2026
4 months ago
9mo newerApr 29, 2025
1.1 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Qwen3 235B A22B is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, Novita, Together.
Claude Opus 4.6
Qwen3 235B A22B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Opus 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Qwen3 235B A22B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 4.6 vs Qwen3 235B A22B.